Clean it!!
You'd be surprised how many sellers don't clean their machine before putting it on the market? My Dad's Yamaha Rhino was covered with cow manure when he went to see it. Buyers know you can hide things beneath a later (or clump) of dirt. A clean machine shows the buyer you aren't hiding anything. If I come to look at your machine and it is dirty, I will offer you less.
When cleaning my ATV's for sale I use a four stage clean
- Rough clean - Get all the clumps of dirt and mud out of the chassis, tires and suspension. Use a pressure washer and soap. Spray from multiple angles and don't be scared to get on your knees to get a better view.
- Fine clean - Your rough clean looks good until it dries and then you see everything you missed. Use your garden hose, a bucket of soapy water and sponge. I usually use dish soap.
- Dry clean - Ok, now your done with the water. Wait until its dry and now you get our your Spray Nine or Castrol Superclean and go at it with a cloth on your seats and racks. Spray with your cleaner and wipe it off with the cloth. This is your best bet for getting those mud stains.
- Tire shine - Ok now it's clean but it looks dull, no shine at all. Buy yourself some good "no touch" foaming tire shine and go to town. Cover the entire machine, no need to wipe off other than the drips. Remember this will make the seat shine like a diamond but will also make it slippery as heck.
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| This is the brand of tire foam I use but most will work |
*Cheat* If you want to bypass all of the work of the previous four steps for taking pictures, take your pictures after you've completed your rough and fine clean while the machine is still wet. The water will give the effect as the tire foam until it dries.
If you work hard and do all four steps your buyer will subconsciously think that this is how you always keep your machine when it is not in use. Mud stains and sun faded plastics look like crap, the tire shine will do a long way to hide both.
Pictures Count
Make sure it's clean first! Then take a bare minimum of 5 pictures (the more the better), take one from every angle and of the interior (sxs) or of the handlebars\gauges of a quad.
Many people show the mileage on the gauges and I think this is a good idea.
Remember, even though you've seen it from every angle, your buyer hasn't. Think from their point of view.
If it's in a garage, take it out. A cramped picture of just the front corner of the ATV does nothing for the buyer.
If you can, get some greenery in the background, nothing makes a picture of an ATV pop like it sitting on nicely cut grass with bushes or trees in the background.
Use a decent camera that can take pictures with enough detail and not something from an old flip phone.
Market your ATV wherever you can
You local online classified site is your best bet. In my city the most poplar site it Kijiji, in many other areas it is Craigslist. Talk to your friends and find out where they are posting items for sale, it doesn't pay to post on a site nobody uses. Watch the hit counter so that you know how many people have actually viewed your machine. Lots of hits without any contact means that buyers think there may be something wrong. Check your pictures or wording.After posting your ad click on it, try and put yourself in the buyers shoes and see if you have properly represented your machine. Click on the pictures and make sure that when the buyer clicks on them that they are a decent resolution and not just a small thumbnail.
Other placed to advertise are:
-Bulletin boards at your parts dealer
-Facebook groups
-Tell your friends
Price
Be prepared to negotiate your price. Don't ever ask the exact price you want. Yeah I hate price negotiations too but it is part of selling a used ATV. The buyer wants to feel like they have gotten a great deal. They also want to feel that if something goes wrong with the used ATV they are purchasing that they have some extra money that could be put towards those repairs. The bare minimum I recommend is $200 more than what you want to get out of it for machines $10,000 and under. On machines $10,000 and over I would say to have at least $500 of negotiating room.
Don't try to sell your machine for more than it's worth. Do your research, find three other comparable machines and their price ranges and average them out to figure out your asking price.
Accessories increase the value of your machine, but not dollar for dollar. If you spent $1000 on accessories you can't expect that they will increase the value any more than $500 at best. And some accessories can actually devalue the price.
Grow a thick skin
Trolls hiding behind a keyboard will lowball you, it's just the name of the game and be prepared. It doesn't mean they are insulting the value of their machine, they just want a deal. Sometimes if you manage to keep your cool you can turn a lowball into a reasonable offer if you are patient.
Be patient
I have had it happen to me a number of times where when the machine I am selling is first posted it gets lots of attention....and then completely dies in a couple days. Be prepared for a minimum of two weeks when marketing a machine under $10,000 and up to 8 weeks for $10,000 and over. There is a huge mental barrier for many people when you add that next zero onto the price.
Try to get them to see the machine
Many people want to do most of the price negotiations either by text or email, it sucks and I don't really understand it but it is a new reality enabled by technology. I don't understand how people feel they can properly negotiate a price of something that they have only seen pictures of, but they do. Roll with it. Do what you can just to get the buyer to your house to see it. In my experience 9 times out of 10 when somebody actually makes the time and effort to come over to view the machine they are planning to buy.
Hopefully these tips will help you in selling your ATV, if you feel there is something I have left out or there is a good negotiating tip you've figured out please tell me in the comments section.
